Durbin Statement On Senator McCain's Health

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement upon hearing of Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) diagnosis of primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor. "The outpouring of bipartisan respect and love for John McCain as he faces this cancer battle reminds us that after all the meanness there is a human side to politicians. Count this Democrat in John McCain's corner."… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On CBO Analysis Of Senate Health Care Repeal Without Replacement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of Senate Republicans' most recent plan to repeal Americans' health care without any replacement, estimating that 17 million people would lose coverage in 2018. That total would increase to 32 million people by 2026. "It is incredible that Republicans will not tell us what version of the bill we'll be voting on in just a few s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Nelson, Rubio, Menendez, Cruz, Merkley Introduce Resolution Honoring Late Cuban Dissident Oswaldo Paya

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the fifth anniversary of Oswaldo Payá's death, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bipartisan resolution honoring the legacy of the Cuban dissident and calling for an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Payá, an outspoken activist for free speech, democracy, and human rights, died in a car crash on July 22, 2012. Wh… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges No Vote On John Bush Nomination To 6th Circuit Court Of Appeals

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged his colleagues to oppose the nomination of John Bush, who has been nominated to serve a lifetime appointment on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Bush has made dozens of provocative comments, which cast serious doubt upon his temperament, his judgment, and his ability to serve as a fair and impartial judge. These statements include comparing abortion to slavery, using a… Continue Reading

Durbin: Repealing Health Care Without A Replacement Is A Dereliction Of Duty

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Senate Republicans for proposing a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without any replacement plan-the latest twist in the Republican health care repeal effort, which follows last night's announcement that they do not have consensus within their own caucus and lack the 50 votes needed to advance the last version of their legislation. "For those who say, 'Well, I promised my entire political career an… Continue Reading

Durbin To Senate On Health Care: Let's Surprise America And Actually Get Something Done

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after two additional Senate Republicans announced they would vote against the Motion To Proceed on the latest version of the Senate Republican health care repeal bill, obstructing its path forward: "To my Republican colleagues: this is the time for both parties to surprise the American people and actually get something done. The end of the debate on the latest GOP repeal of the Affordable Care Act gives … Continue Reading

Durbin: Republican Health Care Repeal Bill Fatally Flawed

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today the new version of the Senate Republican health care repeal bill will still force millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, increase costs, and put critical health care services beyond the reach of hard-working American families-all to give wealthy corporations, including insurance and drug companies, a tax break. "Senate Republicans unveiled their most recent bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act last week and it's just as bad … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $130,000 In Federal Funding For Huntley, Illinois First Responders

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $130,928 grant to the Huntley Fire Protection District through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. Today's funding will support and improve the capability of the department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect our citizens. As these brave men and wome… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Combat Corruption In Border Patrol, Immigration And Customs Enforcement

Bill Would Strengthen CBP Polygraph Requirement, Establish Requirement At ICE Hundreds of DHS employees have been arrested or indicted for corruption since last decade WASHINGTON - In response to the President's proposed hiring surge of thousands of border and immigration agents, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced legislation to combat corruption in the ranks of U.S. Customs and Border Prot… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans' Health Care Repeal Bill Version 2.0

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after Senate Republicans released a revised version of their health care repeal legislation. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the first version of Senate Republicans' bill to repeal Americans' health care would cause 22 million people to lose their health coverage by 2026, including one million Illinoisans. "Congressional Republicans' approach to repealing health ca… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump's Wall Won't Fix Broken Immigration System

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, slammed the Trump Administration's simplistic approach to immigration, arguing that a border wall would do little to stop people overstaying visas, who make up the majority of recent unauthorized immigrants. Senator Durbin recalled that the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013 - which he helped author as a member of the "Gang of 8" - would have increased border secur… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth: Plainfield Tank Car Derailment A Wake-UP Call For DOT

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao to do more to prevent railroad tank car accidents like the one in Plainfield, Illinois on June 30, 2017, in which multiple rail cars on a Canadian National (CN) train carrying crude oil derailed, causing an estimated 45,000 gallons of oil to leak out of the tank cars. "We are extremely grateful for the hard work of Plainfield's first responders, … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2 Million In HUD Funding For Housing And Community Development Across Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a total of $2,058,130 in grant funding to Illinois agencies through two programs - the Housing Counseling Grant Program and the Service Coordinator Program - to help families, seniors, and people with disabilities who live in insured and assisted apartment housing across the state live more independent lives. "This funding will give lo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Klobuchar, Cardin, Reed Introduce Legislation To Prevent Creation Of Cybersecurity Unit With Russia

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Jack Reed (D-RI) today introduced legislation to prevent the creation of a cybersecurity unit with Russia. The legislation follows the suggestion from President Trump that the United States should partner with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on a joint cybersecurity unit. The No Funds for Cyber Coordination with Russia Act of 2017 says that the President should publicly accepts U.S. intelligence findin… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions FBI Director Nominee Christopher Wray At Judiciary Hearing

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Christopher Wray, who is nominated to serve as FBI Director, during his confirmation hearing. Durbin pressed Mr. Wray on whether or not he would meet one-on-one with the President in the Oval Office and whether he will create contemporaneous, written reports during his time as FBI Director, should he be confirmed. "We are in an unusual moment in American history where Mr. Comey was fired fr… Continue Reading

Durbin: Illinoisans Agree, Take Repeal Off The Table

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted the devastation that Republicans' heartless health care repeal plan would unleash on the state of Illinois-including kicking one million Illinoisans of their health insurance and causing further pain to the state economy. In order to provide nearly one trillion in tax cuts for wealthy individuals and big businesses, the Republican repeal bill would throw 22 million people nationwide off health insurance, sl… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With FBI Director Nominee Christopher Wray

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Christopher Wray about his nomination to serve as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director. Durbin discussed an array of key issues with Mr. Wray, including his thoughts on Russia's involvement in the 2016 U.S. election, Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for Chicago, criminal justice reform, Mr. Wray's role in the George W. Bush era "torture memos", and the relationshi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Seventh Circuit Judge Ann Claire Williams Assuming Senior Status

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement upon the announcement that Seventh Circuit Judge Ann Claire Williams, the first African-American judge to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, has assumed senior status. Senior status allows veteran federal judges to retire but continue working with a reduced caseload. "Judge Ann Claire Williams has been an inspirational leader on the bench. She has served the people of Illinois and the 7th Circuit w… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Urge DEA To Lower Opioid Quotas To Combat Prescription Drug Abuse

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) led a group of sixteen senators in sending a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), urging the agency to better prevent painkillers from flooding the market by setting lower opioid production quotas for 2018. Last year, the DEA heeded the senators' call to address America's opioid epidemic by reducing nearly all opioid quotas by 25 percent or more. This was the first reduction of its kind in over twenty years, but DEA-approved opioid pr… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Labor Department To Continue Funding Youth Job Training Programs In High Poverty, High Crime Areas

WASHINGTON-In response to drastic cuts to federal job training programs proposed in the President's fiscal year 2018 budget, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor calling for strong investment for youth training programs in communities with high levels of poverty and violence. Durbin argued that these programs help keep at-risk youth safe, improve their future employment outcomes, and make them less likely to engage in crime. "Chronic… Continue Reading